Golden
Eagle, Aquila chrysaetos

I
was taking a
landscape photo
of the fall scenery at Bosque del Apache in New Mexico with a medium
zoom lens in 2009 when
this bird flew across in front of me, and I got this grab-shot, my
first postable image of a Golden Eagle. Since then I have been able to
get some additional photos,
shown below, but I'm still waiting for a chance to take a photo worthy of this magnificent bird.

The
image above and the five below were taken in or near the Diablo Range, which
separates the San Francisco Bay Area from the California Central
Valley. This excellent area for raptors is said to have the
highest density of nesting Golden Eagles in the world. The white
patches on the tails of the birds
shown above and the two below mark them as immature.

Same
bird shown above and below, with much less extensive underwing white
patches than in the juvenile shown in the second photo down.

Above,
a boldly plumaged juvenile Golden Eagle overhead, with large white
patches in both tail and underwings; the extent of white lessens as the
birds mature over three years, and can be quite variable. Below an
adult overhead, all dark underneath.